Friday, March 31, 2006

So today, I did nothing writing wise and it felt good. I was gonna wrap up my last sex scene, but eh...I needed a break. Suffering from post traumatic edit disorder. I'm waiting on one crit and I figure when I get that back I'll go back, write that sex scene, edit one final time and send it out.

But the title of this entry says a lot I think about the way I'm feeling right now. I'm waiting. Waiting to hear back from my agent, waiting to get line edits from my editor, waiting to get my crit. It seems sometimes like my life is just one big ball of anxiety, twisting waiting. Today it was all I could to leave the house for a second, fearing that I might miss a phone call from my agent telling me we got sold. (Didn't need to worry there obviously)

Problem is, I feel like I'm at a crossroads right now. And there's two signs. One that says, Good tidings await you here. The other: Welcome back to misery beeyatch!

Sigh, I'm so frustrated. I poured my heart into rewriting that novella, focused everything on it, trying not to think about this. But it was weird, the second I was done and relief should have flooded me, it was instant and powerful...waiting, waiting, waiting.

And frankly my dears, waiting sucks!

Yet, I understand the name of the game. This is a writers life. We sign up for this sometimes frustrating, always strangely wonderful profession knowing this. Knowing that with great pain comes great pleasure. Hoping we might write the next BIG thing, and that even if we don't, we can find a few fans who really like our work. That in a sense, all the constant popping of rolaids is worth it. (I don't, but go with the metaphor here)

I love my agent. I want to stick with her. I want to form a symbotic relationship. One in which I don't suck the life out of her or vice verse, but where we can coexist and excel together. (Corny I know. I'm tired and melancholy.)

What the hell is wrong with me? I just finished my novella. I'm anticipating that it will sell. If not to my agent, definitely somewhere. So why am I feeling so whiny and depressed all of a sudden?

Sorry guys. Probably shouldn't have even posted tonight. Just had to get it off my chest.

Thursday, March 30, 2006

Eekkkkkk

I did it! I finished it! I'm tired, but estatic. Tonight I wasn't really in the mood to write, but I was so close. Just 9 little pages left. So I forced myself to just sit down and finish the damn thing and nothing ever feels better.

(Well except for a big box of original flavored Krispy Kremes and hanging out with my family...I guess typing the end is a close second) ;)

Wow. I'm bushed. But I did it. Feel more excited about this one because I took a novella I wrote way back when (when I was just learning the ropes mind you) and slashed and ripped, edited and pitched..and basically rearranged and rewrote the entire thing while still keeping the main plot intact and I CAN'T BELIEVE I DID IT.

I wouldn't recommend that sort of torture on my vilest enemy.

Wow.

I still have 2 sex scenes left to write. But those are cake. I've written so many I could probably whip one up in my sleep. So tomorrow I won't post much either because I'll be writing those. But yep, by Friday. All done. I'll send it off with a hope and a prayer.

Wednesday, March 29, 2006

Yes!

17 pages in one hour. Got 9 left to go!!! Still have those dratted sex scenes, but yes!! I'll definitely have the rewrites done today, and the sex scenes done tomorrow. Keep your fingers, eyes, and toes crossed that my agent will like it. If not, I've got other prospects, but still. I definitely feel this thing has potential!

Sorry for the short posts lately guys, but I'm not going to stop my muse from doing whatever she's doing by writing long blogs. I'm through for the night but I just wanted to report I did another 17 pages tonight. So my grand total for the day is:

*drum roll please*

30 pages!

(How 'bout that?) ;) Impressed? I am. LOL...I haven't had a night like that in too long. About time that wenchy vixen came out to play. Sheesh, sometimes I really hate my muse. Though please, don't tell her that or she'll punish me for weeks. She's done it before.

Anyway. That leaves me with 23 pages left and then stick a fork in me, I'm done!

Well sorta. I still have 2 sex scenes left to write. Don't know why. But sometimes I'm just not in the mood. LOL (get your mind out of the gutter people)...sometimes it's all I can do to even think about writing another sex scene..so I do the ol' tried and true method of:

INSERT SEX SCENE HERE

LOL...So at about 4-6 pages per scene I guess still have another 31-35 pages. But still. I'm stoked.

Tomorrow for sure I'll have the editing and revising done. Writing the sex scenes after that will be cake.

Monday, March 27, 2006

Finally, a silver lining in this dark dark cloud

Ugh...I did it. I hit my second wind. Finally! You all know how much I've been whining lately about this novella I've been working on. Well last night it finally happened. I found my stride with the book and now I'm on cloud nine. I'm nearly done with the thing, but I'm super excited now too.

I've basically rewritten the entire thing, which was the crux of my crankiness. The plot was good. But the writing was poor. At least in my eyes. I'd gotten it pubbed before, but that was almost 2 years ago and my writing has improved, plus my voice has definitely found it's stride. I wanted to submit this story to my agent because I felt it really had a good chance, but I knew if she got it the way I'd written it before she would have rejected it. I mean, I would have. Lots of little blunders in there, telling not showing...adverb hell. Add to that that I was just coming into my voice, feeling my way, dipping my little toe into the water and trying to find my place in the writing world. I'm not blasting my other publisher...I still think it's good enough that someone else might consider it. But if I want it to have a chance in some anthalogy say in elloras or red sage, then I really wanted it to shine. Make it stand out from the pack.

I really feel I'm getting there now. I'm excited about where it's going. Last night as I'm writing this story took me places I hadn't expected. A whole new wrench got thrown into the mix and it's working. It's WORKING!!! Woo hoo.

That is such a breakthrough. I love it when this happens. And without fail you'll hear me bitchin' and whining about my next project. That's just how I am until I reach that epiphany and go 'ah ha...so that's what you were trying to tell me all along.'

That said, I'm going back to finish up the darn thing! Should definitely have it done by this weekend. Whew, such a relief.

And just out of curiosity. Is anyone else like this? Do you all hit that sagging middle where each page, each paragraph is sheer hell to edit, write, read and then suddenly boom! It all makes sense and coalesces' into this project near and dear to your heart?

And just to let you guys know. I've done 10 pages in about 2 hours. And still not ready to stop. :)

Sunday, March 26, 2006

What music means to me

Have you guys ever listened to a song and instantly found yourself transported to a memory, some moment in time where the memory became crystal clear and you could remember, when, what day, and where? I do, all the time. If I listen to anything from the 80's I remember my childhood, 90's graduation and so on. Yeah, I'm a young blood, so sue me! ;)

Anywho, I'm like that with my writing too. I can't write unless I've got something going on in the background. Right now, I'm listening to some reggae. But when I write in my paranormals I need something hard, crunchy, and with that flinty edge of violence that makes me capable of writing out a scene with a bit more grit and blood. But when I'm working on my contemporary I find myself leaning towards Sting and the Police, The Eagles, Fleetwood Mac...something rock, but not necessarily hard. And always has to have that thread of romance to the song. When I'm doing erotica...hehehehe...then it's something like The Divinals (sp?) You know the song, "I touch myself" and any other slew of dirty, nasty songs that get me revved up enough to write that really steamy sex scene. Fantasy books, Enya, Sarah McLachlin (sp? jeez, I suck at these names..lol) but anyway, has to be something spiritual, misty, mystical...something that has that magical quality to it.

Am I the only one like this?

I feel like I've got a library of music when it comes to my books. And once a book is done, if I hear that song then I instantly remember what scene I used it with, what time of night..etc. I'm so weird, I know. So my question is..if you guys do listen to music while you write, do you find yourselves using the same type pattern I do, or is completely random?

Friday, March 24, 2006

hotties...and me

well, didn't do much today. actually haven't done much for the past 2 days. Last night I got a total of 2, that's right 2 pages done!! argh...tonight, I highly doubt will be any different, but I'm determined and call me masochistic but I'll keep at this friggin' novella til I'm done. Stressed out though I decided me and the family needed a nice night out. So we went to this movie in the park deal. Would have been a blast, they were airing the goonies. Stars are winking overhead, people are talking, my baby is playing and dancing. But oh my god, it was so stinkin' cold I thought I might die. I'd only brought light light blankets because this is after all, TEXAS...I mean really. Whodda thought that wouldn't be good enough?

GRRRR...

Family night is ruined. I can't take it anymore, so we have to bribe our son to leave the park with a doughnut as a peace offering. None for mama, she's watching that girlish figure, but oh that smell....mmmmm. Makes me want to be naughty. One of my biggest weaknesses is Krispy Kreme. So I avoid them like the plague because I know I could easily pack on a ton eating those things. But ohhhh...

*sorry drooling*

Anywho, so plan B. We come home. I'm about to settle down to read a book, my son is going to watch Chicken Little for like the 10th time (and yes I know the movie just came out...sigh) and my hubby is playing on his guitar. Which by the way...sigh, I love a man who knows his way around an instrument. He's so good it makes me tingle.

So because I plan to write a minimum of 5 pages tonight after the brood goes to bed up top is a little eye candy for me. Hopefully they'll titillate my muse enough to come back and help me out for a bit. LOL..

Thursday, March 23, 2006

Writer beware

Can you tell that lately I haven't had much inspiration for a good rant? LOL...anyhow, I came across a rant today on Kristin Nelson's blog that really got me thinking. I really wanted to share this with those of you who don't read her blog. Though honestly, if you don't..you should. She's one of the good agents and gives some great industry advice...but I digress.

And ummm...wow. Who would'a thunk there were agents out there this calculating. Let's just call them sharks. Anyway, these are reputable agents with good solid sales under their belts who go out and basically whisper seductive promises of grandeur and money in already established authors' ears to get them away from their current agent. Let me stress though, these aren't authors who're the Nora Roberts of the world, these are authors who are getting there, but are creating a buzz along the way. A hot commodity. From what she said they promise you the world, NY bestseller list, gads of money just to steal you away.

And heaven help you if you cave to the devil's lies. Because if they can't make good on their promise they do one of two things. 1. They'll drop you so fast from their roster that you're head'll spin and you'll be black balled from ever getting back with your other agent. or 2. They'll ignore you until you fade back in obscurity and you're black balled from ever getting back with your old agent.

(Also and this is just me, but agents talk to each other..I'm fairly sure you'd never be able to get with another agent after that, because who would want to take a chance on that happening to them? I can think of one author in particular who burned some serious bridges and now we never hear from her. I'm sorry, but I don't want that to be me.)

Beware the sharks. If you ever get to that level..don't listen to the lies. If you love your agent, stick with them. Remember they got you to where you are today and who's to say they won't get you to the bestseller lists eventually. But if you burn bridges believing the lies and can't cut the mustard...be prepared for the repercussions.

I don't know about you, but that's so not worth it to me. I love my agent and I hope if that were to ever happen to me, I'd have enough sense to stick it out with the woman who believed in me first.

Wednesday, March 22, 2006

SO hurrah for all us novella writing fiends. Personally I love novellas. If they're written well, you can get a full story in less time. And for us mother's, or working women on the go go go, that's a plus. I sure hope they're going to make a huge comeback because I've got several in the works.

Tuesday, March 21, 2006

Ugh

I have to work tonight. I really do. Problem is I don't want to. I've grown so lazy where this novella is concerned. I want to write on my sequel. That's where my thoughts are really at. But this novella is a priority, it's already been promised somewhere...a very loose timeline of when it has to get there, but still...promised. What is it about this story that just makes me want to scream, hide under the covers, and never touch it again?

The only thing I can think is that I'm practically rewriting the entire thing. My old epub just sunk and the rights reverted back to me. Story is decent enough and with the rewrites I've done looking much better. But I think my problem might be, when I finish a story I'm done. Over it. Time to move on. I need a serious kick in the rear and a strong pot of coffee to get me through this one.

Blah...

UPDATE: 7 1/2 pages done tonight. Whew, what a relief. Still have another 62 to go. *insert whiny moan here*

Monday, March 20, 2006

If it smells like fish...

Well..I had no idea what I'd blog about tonight. For once it actually paid to be lazy and surf the net and then inspiration fell in my lap. I stumbled across a site that got me a little worried, and I wanted to give and share my piece, with the world in the hopes of preventing what could become a potentially costly and sad experience.

Ever hear those tales from your writer friends about so and so who fell in with a bad agent, who not only never sold their book but also took their money and ran? Well......

It seems I may have stumbled across just a site. (I say may, because I know nothing about this agency. All the research I've done on them literally brings me nothing...but, they could still be legit. However, if they are..shame on them. Their business ethic sucks the big one)

Now...I'm going to highlight a few things that made me instantly suspicious.

1. We work book deals for authors with all of the major publishers, including, but not limited to Random House, Ballantine, Knopf, Crown, Bantam Dell, Doubleday Broadway, Simon & Schuster, The Free Press, Atria/Pocket Books, Fireside, Warner Books, HarperCollins, Morrow/Avon, Regan Books, Viking, Penguin, Putnam, Perigee, Berkley, Dutton, NAL, St. Martins Press, WW Norton, Hyperion, Houghton Mifflin, Farrar, Straus, Giroux, Harcourt Brace, Algonquin, Grove Atlantic, Henry Holt and Bloomsbury, among others. For foreign sales we work in conjunction with sub-agents in every book-buying country in the world. For film and TV sales, we work in conjunction with sub-agents at most of the major talent agencies.Sounds nice in theory. BUT...they have no client list to speak of. Okay...getting a little leery now. How could they possibly work with every single publishing house in NY and yet, not have a single client to boast about on their pages? And if you look at the established agent websites, you'll note, THEY DO HAVE A CLIENT LIST!

2. We offer consulting services to aspiring writers who seek to self publish.(Then they go on to say this)These services are not for individuals that are only seeking to have a literary agent place their book with a Publisher. These services are for those interested in self-publishing or those that have attempted to get placement and now need/want to self-publish. WTF??? Since when do you need an agent to help you self pub? Go to LuLu. You can do it yourself, and for much cheaper. Which brings me to the next topic.

3. StarWorld Package I $350.00Package I is designedfor the person who has a pretty good understanding of how to self-publish and needs minimal guidance to take their title to the market.

StarWorld Package II $850Package II is designed for the individual/company less experienced in the publishing industry and who is very serious about getting their book self-published and on the market.

StarWorld Package III $2500Package III is designed for the individual/company in the publishing industry who desires in depth self publishing consultation (publishing and legal) from start to finish.StarWorld Independent Publisher Package $5,000 (Initial Retainer)This Package s designed for the companies in the publishing industry who desire in depth consultation (publishing and legal) from start to finish. This package is for those interested in acting as an independent publisher of books.To this all I have to say is, what the hell do these people think they're doing? And for 5k at that? Please people, please...if you see an agency telling you that for this and this dollars they'll help you SELF-PUB of all the stupid, idotic things...run, run fast and as far away as you can. Granted, they say these packages are more for leaning how to promote your self pubbed book. LOOK, there are several great writing groups out there (Romance Divas for one) who'll tell you how to do it, totally FREE! As in zip, zilch, nada. There are even a few gals on RD who do self pub and do quite well for themselves. Ask them, but whatever you do...do not pay for advice that should be free.

4. (Oh this mission statement is priceless!)Our goal is to work with Authors and Independent Publishers whose works inspire others to live their best life and/or achieve their dreams. Now you may think that this is leaning towards only self-help or inspiration books. All literary genres contain books that inspire people to greatness and living their best life. Our Mystery Author’s work may very well inspire a young man or woman to make the next breakthrough in forensic science. Our Science Fiction Author’s work may inspire the next breakthrough in space travel. A relationship/romance Author may inspire a person to seek improvement in their marriage.I am not making this shit up people. It's about to make my yack, this is like reading something off a hallmark card. Are you serious? Really? Could you not have come up with something better than that drivel?

5. And finally, to lend them an air of credibility I suppose...A good literary agent will:

Possibly edit--as part of the basic service--the manuscript to make it more marketable. But be careful. If the agent offers to edit the manuscript for a fee or recommends someone specific who can do this, it’s quite possible that the agent actually is in the edit-for-a-fee business rather than the literary agency business. Really? How interesting. And what would you call charging someone 5k just to learn how to promote a book? Good business?

I'm so disguested, it just sickens me. What's even more sad is that authors, so discouraged with rejection after rejection will sometimes find themselves drawn into this. Not because they're dumb, or even stupid, sometimes you just want to believe. Even if it sounds too good to be true. I don't know what makes me more mad. That they clearly state they're not just working for your book to go to NY...but self pubbing. And yet in the next breath how they've worked contracts with practically each major house in NY. Where? Show me some stats. Make me a believer, because frankly, this sounds like total bullshit.

I'm sorry, but this kind of crap makes me so mad I see red. I should restate however, I know nothing about this group. They could be legit. They could have gads of clients. They could. And that's how they draw you in. Because they are smart enough to not say. Everything sounded so wonderful. Wow. They even talked about movie rights..I mean by now, any unsuspecting author would be seeing stars.

And if anyone knows otherwise about this "supposed agency" please let me know. I'd love to find out I was wrong. I'd love to write a letter of apology and post a list of clients who've scored them hundreds of thousands, if not millions of dollars. That would be great.

Unfortunately every bone in my body tells me I'm right. So I'll end this rant how I started it.

Sunday, March 19, 2006

Started running again...OY!

Yeck. I despise running. Hate it. But in order to stay in shape some evils are unfortunately, necessary. Sigh. I started last week, am now up to 1/4 mile nonstop...which is frankly, pathetic. I hate being out there and seeing all these people pass me by and think "There used to be a time when I could actually run 10 miles a day!"

What happened to me?

I could blame it on getting married, having kids, or...I just got lazy. Common problem I suppose. Still, it irks. I hate being so far behind again. At the same time I look forward to getting back into prime shape and bikini ready by summer. (Whether or not that will happen, who can say. But it is my goal.)

Today I had a nice big juicy salad. Which is not so bad for me. Thank God I enjoy the green stuff, otherwise I think I might just chuck this new healthier me out the window and never look back. But I've had an epiphany as of late and that is, I don't want to die young.

Writing what I do, it just makes me think. Death could really happen at any moment. And I know, getting healthier and back into shape may not prevent a premature death, but for me, there's nothing sadder than thinking some deaths (like coronary disease) could have been prevented just by taking care of yourself early on in life.

So that's my goal. Just get healthy, and this time stay that way. Make it a life long habit, teach my son by my actions and not just my words.

It made me so sad today when I saw that the only thing he wanted to eat was chips. It's not that I don't cook. I know how to cook, and quite well thank you very much. But it's so much easier sometimes instead of forcing him to eat the pasta primavera, just to slap a PB&J together, some chips on the side, sippy cup full of juice and call it dinner. So yeah, for better or worse. I'm sticking to it this time.

I'm making a me change...and ya know, for all the whining I do about hating to run...it's actually kind of nice. I like seeing my pants fit me better already. Starting in on a plate of food and going, you know what I'm done. I don't need to finish the rest.

Don't know. This time, I really think I'll do it. Just a crazy little rant about my life. Nothing to do with writing, or otherwise. Sorry if it bored. LOL...

~~Viv

Oh, and if I don't want to die prematurely than I better get off the puter...got a wicked tornado system headed our way. Lightning crashing big time outside my windows. So until then...Ciao.

Saturday, March 18, 2006

So I'm bored, what's new?

Okay, I'm asking you readers a direct question and I'd love some responses. I'm looking for some good books to read. Something to sink my teeth into. I don't care if they are ebooks or print. Here's my preferences.

Recent fave reads:

All the Merry GentryBooks by LKHDevil in the White City (forgot author name, too lazy to look it up...by the way, this was not a romance. It was a nonfiction book about World Fair held in Chicago and the serial murderer running amok through that town. If you haven't pick this up. MUST READ!)Moon Call by Patricia Somthing. (Also not a romance. Just a straight up paranormal with slight romantic elements. Very very good.)Black Jewel Trilogy (Umm..WOW. If you love fantasy. You'll love that)Kushiel Dart Series by Jaquilene Carey (Don't know if I spelled it right, but anyhow. Love the entire series. Very good)

So now you know the types of books I like. What were some of your favorites? I can read just about anything but category. I've found very few I actually like. No knock on the genre, I just like a more convulated tale. So there you have it. Give it to me.

Friday, March 17, 2006

Book out today!

My newest novel, Witch Hunt, has been released today from New Concepts Publishing. If you look to the right you'll see the cover, it's the one with the man and the gun. *wicked grin* Don't know what it is about cops, but it's a pretty darn sexy profession. I think it has to do with the superhero theory. Gotta love it.

Anyhow, here's a short blurb of the book:

Lina Brennen has been searching for one thing all her adult life: A place to call home. Between her Granna Merona--the pesky ghost who has been by her side since childhood--and Lina's skills as a faith healer, she's been run out of town after town.

Trent Godfrey has turned his back on his Native American heritage, terrified of anything to do with the Spirit World. Will their love survive the journey through his buried past and help him accept Lina for who she is, or will their hearts be irreparably broken?The sizzling attraction between them can be stopped by only one thing: Lina's gift. Is their love strong enough to lead him through his buried past? Or will it tear them apart forever?

It's a fun book. Written in a Southwest setting, a little hole in the wall place called Unegi, Arizona. Unegi is an actual Native American Word, I believe it's Souix, but don't quote me. Anyhow, it means ugly, which should pretty much let you know what the town looks like. But there's lots of interesting characters nestled in that ugly little town and this is their story.

Please guys, check it out. Read an excerpt and who knows. Maybe you'll like what you read. :) Here's the link.

Besides, this I've really got nothing else going on today. In revision hell...I'm slashing, ripping and adding onto my little shifter novella and I'm sincerely hoping to have that sucker finished by next week. I sat myself a one week goal, but I didn't accomplish that. I need to send it off as soon as possible so I can start working on my sequel again. LOL..gonna go watch the goonies in the park tonight. Remember Wedding Planner when J-Lo is sitting in a park watching an old black and white movie? Well that's pretty much what's going on for me today. Should be fun.

Thursday, March 16, 2006

How did I find my agent?

So I always have people asking me, how long did it take you to get your agent? How many rejections did you receive before actually landing yours? How many years did you write before you knew it'd get accepted? Did you write to the market? Etc...Here's the skinny on me.

First off, my story is probably a little unusual. The saying that getting an agent takes skill and 2/3rds luck is absolutely true. I'm convinced that if I hadn't written what I'd written, and that if it hadn't gotten in front of my agent on just the month that she's actively acquiring for this..that I wouldn't have gotten her in the end. Paranormals used to be all the rage. (And I say used to be because unfortunately the market is getting incredibly saturated with vampires and werewolves.) It's getting harder and harder to break into the para genre anymore because, and especially, there are big names firmly established in this genre who've cornered the market on vampires and werewolves. A few names that come immediately to mind of course are Feehan and Kenyon.

Did I write to the market in the hopes of giving myself a better chance? In all honestly, I'm not sure. Paranormals have always been my favorite genre. I love taking a concept so completely out of the box and make it skate that fine edge between fiction and reality. Make you almost believe for a second..wouldn't it be cool if? But I also knew, I couldn't just write your typical vampire fare and hope to have my stuff come out on top. First (and I love the vampire genre, so I feel I can be objective about this) there's no vampire lore that hasn't already been told a million times in a million different ways. IMHO no one will ever do it better than Anne Rice. Some have gotten close, but not quite. LKH did a great job, 0r so I read on her fan pages, with her first few Anita Blake books, until of course she introduced pages of nothing but sex sex sex. I've never read her Anita Blake series, mainly because (and I may be in the minority here, but) I'm finding it difficult to read anymore vampire tales. I've read so many and all I ever find is that they're cardboard cut outs of the last few I read. Now, I'm still a huge fan of mixing a vampire tale with another paranormal creature. Not just making the vampire the sole focus of the novel. If you do that, you've guaranteed, that this gal at least will always shell out the $6 to buy that book. Even if in the end I know I'll never buy another title by that author, I'll still give everyone a fair shot in the beginning.

But anyhow, I went off on a tangent there...

I said all that to say this. Seeing the market so overwhelmed by vampires, and now, (sad to say) werewolves, I knew that if I wanted a shot at making it I had to write something different. Something that hadn't already been told to death. LOL...and then it just hit me square in the face. What if I used death? Little far out there, kind of a stretch...and maybe people would get weirded out by the whole idea of the grim reaper becoming the hero..but the more I thought about it, the more I knew, I had to write that story. I was connecting to my characters already. I was seeing through their eyes and getting more excited each day that passed. I needed to write this story. Even if it got rejection after rejection, I had to tell their tale.

Death as a living, breathing entity in and of itself is not a new concept, I know this. But browsing amazon, small epubs, and other author's website I was beginning to think this is something very few authors in romance have done and if I can make him just sympathetic enough than I might actually have a chance. So I poured my heart into the story. It wasn't an easy story to write. At first I made the entire story take place on a remote isle with an almost fantasy type setting. But then I read a blog by a big name author that said for first timers, fantasy books are the kiss of the death. No one will touch you, because fantasy isn't a high in demand genre for romance. Okay, true or not, that shook me up. So I took my already 200 + page novel and rewrote the entire thing. Keeping true to the vision of my characters, but now making this an more urban setting..with...you guessed it, vamps and weres as secondary characters.

But hey, it actually enhanced my deathies. Now they were fighting creatures that most para rom readers could relate to. Readers would intrinsically understand how tough it might be to kill a vamp or woflie with your bare hands, as opposed to maybe a troll or goblin. I think mainly because most peoples--aside from the straight hardcore fantasy crowd--only exposure to those types of characters are from Harry Potter. And while I love me some J.K., I don't particularly find her monsters frightening. Except for Voldemort of course...shudder...still gives me nightmares that one. LOL...

SO was it a conscious choice? Did I write to the market? Yeah, I guess somewhat. At the same time, I couldn't have known for sure what the market was, I was just fortunate enough that my guess was pretty spot on. Add to that a book that's a little more sensual, definitely not an erotica, but for sure I've got more than your typical sex scenes in the book. And finally I found a home.

Now, I've said this a million times but I'll say it again, finding an agent is NO guarantee of a sale. It puts your closer, because they are the ones who do know the market. Know what's hot and if they pick you up, there's a better than average chance you're gonna see your book in print. No agent would waste their time signing someone if they didn't believe with all their soul that they'd turn a profit, and hopefully discover the next Anne Rice, Piers Anthony, Nora Roberts..etc. I'm sure that would be a dream come true for them. (This is absolutely no knock to agents. In the end you realize publishing books is a business, you might develop a great friendship with your agent, but this is a business. Always remember that.)

I've no delusions about my writing abilities. I'm good, but I'm no Nora. And I'm alright with that. My goal was only ever to establish my own little niche in the writing world and just have fun. That's always been my goal. But I want to stick around. I don't want to be some flash in the pan, here one day gone tomorrow. So I'll work at it, continually strive to learn more, and hopefully create my own little death reaper following. LOL...

Now as to how long it took me to land my agent. This is why I say my story was a bit unusual. Not sure if I should admit this here, and it's a warning to all of you who've been giving this consideration, but I sent my queries out when I still had 120 pages left to write. Mainly because agents always took sooooo long to get back to me before. I was lucky to hear anything within the 8-12 weeks as most of their websites state. Usually the wait time leaned more towards months than weeks. So when I sent out this big slew of queries I was shocked and horrified when within 2 days one agent skipped the entire partial process and went straight to asking for my full. And that wasn't even my agent!

What happened as a result of that? I finished the book in record time, completed the last 120 pages in under a week, but the book wasn't as good. It had suffered because of that dumb decision. But for better or worse I sent it off. I'd backed myself into a corner and I knew the rejection would come for sure. It did, sad to say.

BUT...there was a silver lining. 2 days after I'd sent that off to the other agent my current agent, Jessica Faust, shot me an email saying how much she loved the partial and to please send her the full immediately.

So let's keep track here. I always add trackers to my packages, that way I know when something gets there and I don't have to pester the agent. So from the time she'd actually received my package to the request for the full was a total of 4 days! Ummm..wow...now I was really nervous.

I understand the first half of my ms was magic, there was something about it because suddenly I was getting more requests than I'd ever expected, but I also knew I'd shot myself in the foot by doing what I did. I'd managed to edit just a bit and tried to clean more of it up by the time she'd asked for the full, but it was still far from good. I was sick to my stomach. Jessica had always been my top pick agent and I knew, just knew, I'd ruined any chance by acting so impulsively and sending out queries before it was finished.

So I sent it and waited for the rejection. Big surprise. Yes, Jessica rejected it. BUT...she also sent me critique. WOW...a detailed, step by step critique of what absolutely needed changing with the words, please resubmit if you decide to make these changes. Also, I'd gained an 'in' with her. I was allowed to skip the entire query process and send over fulls from now on. Oh wow, wow, wow...scrap me off the ceiling.

Timeline check: From the time Jessica received my full it also took 4 days for her to get back to me. So if you add that up. 8 days total!

All of that let me know, she wasn't just liking my story, she was genuinely excited. This time, I took my time. It took me 18 days to complete the over 200 page rewrites and send it back. This time it took her 2 weeks to get back to me, but...it was worth the wait because I finally got accepted!!!

Still gives me a thrill to think about it. Moral of the story is: Don't assume agents always take months to years to get back to you. Sometimes they only take a matter of days and you'd better be damn sure that book is finished, or close enough to it. I was lucky this time. But it very easily could have gone the other way for me.

And I stumbled across a link by another big name author and here're he's thoughts on how to find an agent. Check it out. It's by Nicholas Sparks, and he gives good insight on this topic as well.

Wednesday, March 15, 2006

How important really is it to have a website?

The consensus seems to be that websites are a must have for authors, a great source for marketing yourself. But how important is it really? I've heard varied things, that they are not just something nice, but a necessity. A way of showing the editor, agent, etc that you are a serious author. But I have to wonder how true that mentality really is. I mean, we've all read the book jackets that talks about the author...and gasp! some of them don't have websites.

Now before you come chasing me with a wet noodle ready to slap the tar out of me, let me stress, I'm of the mind that yes websites are very important. A way to tell the world look at me, look at my books, browse my forums and you'll see how cool, edgy, and truly awesome I am. In the hopes that you'll eventually become a fan of my work, or at the very least of my blog..heck, I'll take my fans where I can get them.

But...(and you knew there'd be one, because otherwise this wouldn't be a very interesting read would it) do you not know my agent never asked me what my website link was, what penname I go by, etc. Thus far, my having a website, has had very little--if any--impact on getting me to where I am. I know it's a tool for the readers, a way to bring them closer to you, not just as a writer, but a person. A way to let them into the craziness that is a writer's mind, but I sometimes wonder...by having a website, blog, etc...do we lose out on the mystery? On that intangible quality that makes us unique and wonderful? Does the reader, knowing I paid off my bills today, I ate sushi for lunch (I didn't..but I could have..) point is: does that make our work any less interesting by knowing all the mundane, day to day, boring details that really is our lives?

And another thing, why do people suddenly turn all snobby when you say, "oh I've got the free website". So what? There're pop ups on my screen, so what if an ad for viagra is flashing across the header, some of us just can't afford to pay top dollar for that nice, snazzy little piece of cyber property that others can. (And I've got a snazzy piece of cyberspace property..courtesy of JodiciBelle Designs and she's fantastic, but the point is, I couldn't have afforded her even 6 months ago) Does that make us any less serious about 'this writing thing?' IMHO, too much opinion is paid to what type of website we have. Isn't it good enough that we even took the time to get one? Create one? Even if it is junk. We cared enough to try. And yet, there's those haters out there who shout 'nay!' Why? Explain that mystery to me.

I could be way off in left field here, and if I am, tell me so. It's just something I've thought about. Is that something that seems to bother any of you, or could you give a flip and do you really want to tell me right now, Viv, shut the hell up and stop thinking so much about stupid stuff like that and get back to writing!

Tuesday, March 14, 2006

Agents, NY, and tons of Self-doubt

So, I received an email today from my agent and you wanna talk about nerves. I'm seriously about to yack. Word is there's a really good buzz going on about my book over there, a lot of editors like the concept and so my agent sent me a list today of the top 6 who're gonna be receiving it this weekend.

I'm not sure whether I should reveal the names, and actually one name shocked the heck out of me, all this time I've been writing and I never knew they dealt with paranormals. I always thought they just pubbed contemps and historicals. And if you've figured out who I'm talking about kuddos to you. Anywho, I'm nervous. Sitting here writing on my blog instead of my novella, why, because I can't concentrate. All I can keep thinking about is there's no way, there's no way these guys are gonna like it.

The "I suck" factor is slapping me hard in the face today. I keep thinking, what am I doing? Why did I do this? Just to be further rejected, and if on the very fat chance one of them likes it and decides to bid on it, then the readers will hate me, label me some cheap knock off of so and so and ugh!!! Do you see these doubts?? They don't end ever. Not even after getting an agent, not even after getting your book in print the first time. Writers are very fragile, and don't let anybody tell you otherwise. We may be tough and we may be able to handle a hard critique every now and again, but the sheer thought of having my baby make the rounds in NY is making me break out in a sweat. I don't want to be rejected, I don't want to have to jump back on this merry go round of find an agent, find a publisher. For once I'd like to just know, this is it. I did it. Now the only person holding me back is me.

But trust me, if I come back and tell you in a few months that the book sold to so and so, then the sequel doubts will kick in. A writer's life is nothing but doubt and at least for this writer, a little bit of disgust at my abilities. When, if ever, do you get to the point that you say, you know what?...I'm good. Or, I may not be a Christine Feehan, but I've created a nice little niche and I'm happy with myself. Sigh...or is that a fairy tale and does that point ever really come?

Yuck, okay, let me just start with that. I despise rewriting stuff. Especially stuff I wrote about 3 years ago. Why am I doing it? Why am I subjecting myself to this torture you might ask? Well because the plot was actually interesting enough that I felt it had merit. I'm stripping a few things out, adding a few things in (a lotta few things actually) and it's a slow, agonizing, painful process, but it's reading much better. I'm hoping to turn this 100 page novella into about 15o (much cleaner and crisper reading) page novella. I'm also turning it from just a vampire paranormal to a vampire romantica. Lots more sex and hot romance. When I first started writing I had no concept of how to write a believable sex scene, so I avoided the bastards like the plague. LOL

I still don't know whether I can write a good sex scene or not, but the difference is, I enjoy writing them now, so I add more. Erotica is also a big market, it's hot and heck, why not? I may not be great at writing erotica's, I know there're others out there much more talented at the craft, but I enjoy writing it every bit as much. And I'm not suddenly jumping on the erotica bandwagon to be more marketable either. There's many different genres I enjoy, it just so happens I'm good at paranormals and hot sex. LOL My mind works better in that venue than others, and trust me I've tried my hand at many different genres.

One near and dear to my heart is the Edwardian Era novels. Think Anne of Avonlea. (Bet you didn't know that about me, eh guys? Ms. Goth chick fan over here..lol) Believe it or not, I've been working on one for almost 4 years now.

My problem is the research. LOL. I'll get about 3 or 4 paragraphs deep into it and realize I have no idea the canning method used back then, or the names they had for a stove, or fridge..and if there's one thing I've learned..history readers are also usually history buffs and they'll nail you to the wall if you write an inaccurate time piece, so I've been very methodical writing this book, and if it takes me 10 years to finish it, I eventually will.

So if this post rambled, blame it on the time. I really had nothing to write about tonight, but I wanted to write. LOL...maybe tomorrow I'll put something a bit more interesting here.

So today was a good day. I got tons of crittering done, did about 10 pages in my novella, still rearin' to go, but I have one last crit due. Life is good today. :)

Speaking of which, no music speaks to me more than Reggae. I like it because it's smart, and if you listen, it really does have something to say. It's not all just catchy beats. Anyhow, been hearing tons of buzz about this new Hasidic reggae rapper, Matisyahu. (Meaning, big time extremes of what you think when you think about a reggae rapper) Okay, that got me curious enough that I had to go check this guy out. Apparantly he's making a huge splash with these much jaded critics. Wanted to see if he lived up to all the hype. And um...WOW! The man is on fire. You guys have to got to check this guy out. Here's a link to free aol sessions, so no charge...click on it, what would it kill you. ;)

You may not like him, but you never know, right?? :D Anywho, guys here's the link. Don't be afraid to use it!

Sunday, March 12, 2006

Saying that you're one of a kind is ... well ... an understatement.You're unusual, quirky, wacky - and you love to challenge people.And you are a total trendsetter. Your friends are quick to copy your fashion and music tastes.Which is why chocolate caramel is your perfect flavor. It's as rare and outrageous as you are.

So yeah, flock of seagulls aren't reuniting (or if they are I certainly don't know about it)..but these boys could definitely give Flock a run for their money. They're called: Clear Static and they rock! If you haven't heard Make up Sex, you should! The video is steamy, will fog up your mirrors, the lead singer is young, but oh so cute. And if you don't believe me take a peek for yourself. But what really got me more than anything was the style these guys pimp. WOW! I love it, I feel like I'm back in school all over again. Especially that blond drummer, that hairdo is bitchin' (to quote one of the more commonly used phrases during that era..lol) The clothes could have come out of my closet (gawd, did I just admit to still having that stuff around?? I think I did..hehe) Anywho, they rock. Check em out!

Also, read a interesting entry today on Kristin Nelson's blog. Basically, how important are contest wins and she pretty much said what I already figured out months ago. They're not. Which might come as a shock to some people. But she was spot on for her reasoning and I agreed with her completely. It was interesting to hear it straight from the horses mouth as it were. She's a respected agent and I love reading her stuff, she gives some great advice to those just starting out and I'd suggest to anyone, if you haven't yet, go there and read her entries. You'll learn a lot.

Saturday, March 11, 2006

Goth art

Well with the types of books I write, this artwork just sorta spoke to me. The women look dark, and yet strangely vulnerable. To me the artwork is tasteful and beautiful.And the second one, is uncanny how similar she looks to my latest vampire creation, Naliah. Hmm...but the first one is pretty cool lookin' too. Wish I'd find some cool ones of guys. Ah well...can't always get what we want, eh? LOL.

Just a short entry. I'm pretty tired, tomorrow I might post a longer entry. But anyhow. I've totaled 25 new pages on my current ms, Death and the Crimson Night. So yay me! I set myself a goal of 5 pages per day. And I've been pretty much on schedule, but tonight I only managed 3. Blame it on family coming into town, :D, not that I mind!

Also, I saw for the first time ever, Say Anything! OMG, I've been missing out. I've already watched it twice today. For a child of the 80's I must say, shame on me! I loved that movie and I don't know what it is, but I suddenly found myself diggin' that geeky cool thing. Ugh, that guy has just grown hotter the older he gets. Love John Cusack.

Friday, March 10, 2006

What color green are you?

You Are Mint Green

Balanced and calm, you have mastered the philosophy of living well.Your friends seek you out for support, and you are able to bring stability to chaotic situations.You're very open and cheerful - and you feel like you have a lot of freedom in life.Your future may hold any number of exciting things, and you're ready for all of them!

Thursday, March 09, 2006

Just life

So I didn't have much to blog about tonight. But I find putting my daily thoughts on screen fun. So, I've decided to try and blog at least once a day. Or at least try anyway.

Today I got my tax return. So awesome to be able to pay some bills off. It kinda sucks on the one hand, because I desperately want to take a trip somewhere. Something cool, like Vegas, or a Cruise. Or, heck..Disney World. (Yeah, okay so now you know my fantasy spot above all the rest. I loved Disney. Went for my honeymoon and now it's in my blood. And let me tell you, there's way more to do there than just kiddo stuff. The adults can have one hell of a time too *wicked grin*...) But I digress. So yeah, anyway I paid off some bills, still had a bit left over to go and have a mini shopping spree. And my shopping sprees tend to involve books, not clothes or shoes.

Harry Potter 4..(yeah, I know..lol..I tend to be more of a kid about those type of movies than my son is.)

Walk the Line (Joaquin baby, you know I love ya!)

Books, I found some great new authors of werewolf tales. Trying them on for size. Wanted to find something other than your typical vampire fare. Will let you know what I think of them. I also finally purchased the Black Jewel Trilogy. I've heard so much about that series I had to try it.

What I'm listening to now:Bite the Hand that Feeds by Nine Inch Nails

My favorite line:Will you bite the hand that feeds? Will you chew until it bleeds?. Can you get up off your knees? (Dark right? Hehehe, I know! Great song to put into my death reaper series)

Song is kickass people, helps that Trent is such a hottie too!

I'm a little annoyed because I tried to post some pics of my favorite hotties, including my yummy Trent, and it's saying my connection speed has timed out. Grrr...so as soon as I'm able to post pics, I'll put up some delicious ones I've stumbled across.

Wednesday, March 08, 2006

Hmm...hurt feelings and pet peeves

Okay, so I got a crit back yesterday and I have to say it got me thinking. No the critique wasn't cruel, and yes I think there were some valid points to it...but what really got me was that my entire chapter was basically rewritten. Which makes me wonder, jeez...do I write that bad? I've gotten tons of crits on that chapter and all I've heard is 'sooo good, love it...etc' with just a few comments here and there about it needing fixing in this and that spot. But overall, that it worked.

Well, this critter said he liked it, but then again...I've got to wonder. Could he see something in that chapter that no one else could? I admire him. I'll admit, I've got rhino skin when it comes to crits but there's just some people that still get under my skin and make me wonder...'Am I just a talentless hack?'

I know this was only the rough rough draft. And I mentioned that...I wasn't exactly asking for a critique, more a feel of the entire chapter. But he mentioned some specifics that I just flat out didn't agree with. One being my use of adverbs.

Now...before I get people exclaiming loudly how King is the King and he's absolutely right that adverbs are the devil's work, I'll say this. Overusing anything is never a good thing, but I do not...DO NOT...agree that you should take out adverbs completely. Mainly because with one word you're able to cut out about 6 or 7 words describing that one action. Rather than say he ran quickly, I've been told time and time again I should say something like: He ran, trees blurred past his vision as his pace increased.

Or whatever the heck. To me, he ran quickly is clean and cuts out on all the verbage. Now...let me also say this, too many adverbs is just sloppy writing and I DON'T like that. However, I don't pay attention to those rules when I'm only on the rough draft version of my ms. For one, if I took the time to edit out everything I'd be stuck on chapter 1 for weeks. Two, I think you should always move move move ahead. I prefer to have 30 pages added to my ms in a week, as opposed to have 1 very clean chapter that's only about 8 pages long. You'll never get the book finished if you keep stopping to edit.

Believe you me, when edit time comes I'm ruthless, slashing and tearing and ripping the thing apart. I've been known to cut a 30 page chapter down to 17 clean ones and I'm happy with my method.

I guess what really got under my skin about this crit though was that he rewrote the entire thing. As an author I'd have expected him to understand rough drafts are just that, rough. I also made it quite clear what type of crit I was looking for and a line by line was not it. The first go round of my ms is just to look for holes in the plot, pacing, gmc...etc.

And then all that makes me wonder, can I just not take negative crits? Am I making excuses because someone didn't like it? I hope not. I don't think so...but that nagging, pestering thought bugs me. I know that as an author it's very hard sometimes to seperate yourself from your ms. If someone tells you it's sloppy you take it as a personal attack on your character. At least that's my inital inclination...obviously I know that's bunk. This author and I have a long history of working together, he's never been anything but truthful with me and I've always enjoyed that.

Still...rewriting an entire chapter in your words, your thoughts...I dunno. Call it a pet peeve or whatever, I just don't like that.

Also quick update: I completed my five page goal I set for myself today. And, this is the national read an ebook week! So do it guys! :p My alter ego Clara Verone has an ebook out through Triskelion Publishing...fantasy romance, go check it out if you'd like and if not, several of my RD chums have tons of ebooks out. And if you're really into hot sex, try some quick reads from elloras cave...tawny taylor writes for them and she's fab-o! :D

After my post last night I got so mad at myself that I turned off everything, any sort of distractions went off. Shut down my internet, turned off all the lights, lit some candles and opened my writing folder. Ah, blessed relief. I got 11 pages done. They may not be perfect, but by golly they're all mine and I'm darned proud of them.

I was actually surprised at how well the book started out though. I've been dreaming of writing the sequel to my death book and I think all that pent up energy translated beautifully to screen and my fingers just flew. Gawd, I love writing days like that! My goal tonight is for at least another 5. I've worked it out and if I average at least 5 pages a day I can have a 400 page ms ready in about 3 months. That's more than most take to write a novel, but honestly I can't work any faster. If I tried I'd burn myself out completely. Now if my absent muse actually decides to make an appearance, (instead of riding around behind the hunky biker she picked up at a bar) and I feel like I can get more than 5 pages done, I will. I'll never limit myself to more, but bare minimum I must do at least 5 a day. Or an average of 30 pages a week. More than doable if I set my mind to it.

So here's my goals plotted out for ya: This week I'm going to concentrate on my sequel, I've been dying to write this book for a while and I'm gonna. But after this week I'm going back to my half finished novellas and wrap those up. I need to turn them into Jessica..(in the hopes that I can at least get 1 or 2 of them contracted to her and maybe put into an anthology somewhere...never hurts to get your name sorta established in the beginning, the more books the better)...after that I'll be free and clear to focus solely on my sequel. And I can tell you this, once I decide to focus only on that book, I won't jump to another. So I've got three novellas that I need to finish:

Ugh, I'm so frustrated right now I could scream! I hate, hate, hate when I go through these episodes. Basically, I can't write. I've sat in front of this computer for hours just jumping from one blog to another, doing and finding anything to procrastinate longer. My problem is this, I just completed a month's worth of rewrites and frankly, I'm fried. Thing is this, I have novellas which need writing and I find that I lack any sort of umph to get em done. I REALLY need to start crackin' on the sequel to D.A.T.W.H. and I just can't. Can't or don't want to. Blah, who knows. Right now all I know is the internet is not my friend. I'm tired too, and cranky. Can you tell? Yeck, I'm gonna spare you all the misery and just sign off.

Yes, mermaids. Tonight I was in a fantasy kind of mood. To be perfectly honest, my first love is fantasy, paranormal second. (And for those of you who might not understand the difference between the two here's a short explaination. Fantasy to me has always been something like an alternate dimension, fantastical creatures, high concept realities...while paranormals always had a more urban based setting with the typical creatures of the night, vamps, weres, and so on.)

I've written many fantasies and have found one very disturbing revelation to be almost fact. Fantasies just do not sell well. WHY??? Am I one of a few people in this world who holds a special fondness for centaurs, mermaids, and dragons? Couldn't possibly be. Look at Harry Potter. That's a fantasy, and well..I don't need to show you the stats to let you see how well that series is doing. And then you have the queen, P.C. Cast, rocketing onto the scene with books about mermaids and centaurs, Greek gods and goddessess, and she's doing quite well for herself in that department. So yes, there are some exceptions to the rule. But every editor, agent, etc I've talked to have all said one thing...fantasy romance just doesn't do well. That's so sad to me. If I had my way that's pretty much all I'd write.

To me there's nothing more magical than being dropped into a land full of pirates who speak of the sirens in the sea and have them be more than just legend but fact. Or dragons of gold, green, and burnished bronze swooping and gliding through the air. Sigh...I guess I'm feeling a little whimsical tonight because I just finished watching 'Splash' (you know the one, with Darell Hannah and Tom Hanks) and it got me thinking, made me remember that my one greatest passion is my love of mermaids. Yes, I know they're a fictional breed...but jeez, there's nothing more beautiful to me than seeing a painting of the lonely siren sitting atop a rock with a wave crashing against the background.

And if you really want to see some beautiful mermaid artwork check out www.selinafenech.com Man, if her artwork doesn't get those creative juices flowing, then I don't know what will.

Anyhow, I wondered if there was anyone else there who shared my passion for fantasy, and if you do...what would be the one creature you'd want to become if you could?

I know, silly question...but like I said, I'm in a whimsical mood tonight. :)

Also, sidenote, I got my rewrites done last night. Lengthened my book from about 360 pages to 405 when it was all said and done. Huge accomplishment, but I really do feel it reads much stronger and I just hope the book will make an impression with Jessica, and that she won't make me go back and rewrite again..(though I will should the need arrive)...and most especially I want to make an impact on NY. Sigh, sigh, sigh...the wait is just killing me guys! LOL

Monday, March 06, 2006

My take on agents, life, and ice cream...

So I want to wax poetic tonight. Or whatever the heck. It's late, cut me some slack if I act a little wonky. Anywho, so I've been jumping around blogs lately and cannot believe how many times I've read over and over the very same advice to newbie authors and that is: Don't query agents first. It's easier to find a publisher than an agent.

Hmmm...okay. Well, I guess in general that bit of advice might hold true. But let me share my story with you. I've been writing for about 4 years now. Oh man, when I started out my stuff was awful. Just terrible, I couldn't have paid someone to take the book off my hands, but hey, at a little over 400 pages, 'The Highlander's Curse' was my greatest accomplishment. I, an untrained writer had sat down and wrote the world's next best masterpiece. I mean I really had aspirations that this thing was going to become the next Karen Marie Mooning spinoff. (You notice I said spinoff here, yes, I wasn't really creative back then.) Suffice it to say, all I had to do was send the first few chapters off to crit sites and I learned soon enough how very flawed that vision was. LOL...

Oh well, you live you learn. I was lucky enough to land myself (completely by happenstance) in critique groups that had writers who actually understood the craft and genre. Thank God for them. It was hard. I was fragile and having one of my books compared to a Disney romance...well, you wouldn't believe how many times I almost called it quits. But I stuck it out. How that happened I'll never know. Through those years I learned my craft, bought book after book after book on grammer. Studied up on epublishing houses and by the time I'd finished my second book and sent it off I landed my first contract with an ehouse. Oh it was thrilling. Still, I can look at that story now and see the tremendous growth I've gone through since then. Not to say the book is terrible, but I'm learning. And I continue to do so with each book I pour my heart into crafting.

Went off on a bit of a tangent there, but anyway...so I've been doing this thing for 4 years now. And though there have been moments I whined and cried, I've loved it all. I found Romance Divas and man did my life ever change then. I found not only a place to go and talk shop at, but a home with a bunch of sisters (and a few brothers)..who so totally get me it's scary. Each stepping stone in my journey has been serendepitous. Romance Divas is comprised of not only newbie authors just starting out, but also those who're not only published through NY, but getting established and making a name. I've learned so much in this past year alone it's just amazing.

So finally I've put the wraps on my 6th book and I honestly don't know what made me do it...I've heard time and time again nothing but don't go agents your first route. Try it some other way. Agents are harder to land than publishers. Me, being the hard head that I am, I decided to just do it anyway. I sat down, wrote up a list of my A-list agents, B-list...and so on. Then I sent out, what must have amounted to at least 25 queries. And to say I was surprised would be an understatement, I was shocked at the sheer amount of positive reactions I was getting.

Yeah sure I got plenty of rejections still, but out of those 25 I had at least 8 good nibbles. Some partials, some asking for a full immediately. I was so giddy you couldn't scrap me off the ceiling. Then I got my work in front of that one agent (have you ever heard the saying...it takes luck, skill, and luck to finally find the one? Maybe not, because I just made that phrase up...lol..but basically, it takes the stars to align, the fates to agree....and whatever other good thing you can think of to send your work to an agent who's looking for exactly what you write)..and my world changed. That agent was Jessica Faust of Bookends-inc. The first name on my A-list I might add...it took a total of 8 days to go from partial to full with her..and the phone call. Now the inital phone call was not a, hi I want to sign you, but rather a, hi...this is great, but you need to fix up some key elements.

WHOA!!! Umm...did an agent actually write me up a detailed critique of what needed fixing with a big statement underneath, please resubmit??? Yes, yes she did. So what did I do? I fixed it up! DUH! It took 18 days to get it rewritten, but it was worth it to take the time. I sent it back out and 2 weeks later I finally got the call. LOL...

No I haven't found my baby a home in NY yet. But I'm so close I can just taste it. Will I just die if every house passes up my ms? You betcha. It happens...just because you land an agent doesn't mean it's going to necessarily find a home. The odds are more with you than against you, you gotta think an agent knows the biz and wouldn't offer you a contract unless they were darn sure of a sale...but still, it happens and you have to prepare yourself for that possibility. But I do know this, I got myself an agent without even trying to find that golden publisher first..or even entering this ms into contests. Sometimes it just works out that way. So if you think your book has that kind of potential, don't listen to what everyone else says you should do, do what feels right in your heart and hopefully someday you can look back and smile, sip a pina colada in your million dollar home and laugh because you're a bestselling author who defied common belief.

Then again...maybe that's nothing more than a dream. But you'll never know if you don't try.

Crazy little fact about me you might not know:I'm a sucker for Ben and Jerry's half baked ice cream. Mmmmm...

Sunday, March 05, 2006

This is another place I blog at. Having a heck of a time trying to figure out how to put the links on the side of the page as opposed to posting it as a entry, but ah well. I'll figure it out soon enough.

Okay so my title might throw you off, but there's a reason for it. As many of you know (it's hardly a secret anymore I don't think) I had my third miscarriage last week. I've tried to analyze what it is about writing that brings me so much relief, sorta numbs the pain when I'm writing. I get lost in my stories, in having to tell the lives of these people I've created, but that have come to mean so much to me. And then I sorta had an epiphany the other night and well, tell me what you guys think.

I couldn't figure out an internal conflict for my heroine in my latest death series novel...tentatively titled 'Death and the Crimson Night'...here's the 411 on my latest character. Her name is Nailah, she's a vampire-paranormal investigator. She's kickass this one. Very much in control of her life and the situations around them. But she needed a flaw, that achilles heel as it were, something that makes her a little more human, and then it hit me. She had a miscarriage. It's gonna be years, decades even, since that day...and she'll only ever think about it on the anniversary of. Especially since my vampires are sterile...it's a double whammy for her because she knows that was just it. I don't know...do you guys as readers feel that concept is too heavy? To have a vampire acting so...I dunno, human for lack of a better word, about the situation.

I know vampires shouldn't care, they should be strong, lethal, and dangerous...and she is. The things she deals with on a day to day basis would make sane people cry, but I wanted her to have a bit of an edge and well...it wouldn't hurt if in the long run by writing about such a character I'd be able to maybe pass on this catharsis to readers who've gone through the same thing. So a vote would be nice...yay or nay.

And I should stress I'd never be preachy about this, but I do know that even though I write paranoramls I can still write about stuff that matters. Hmmmm...I'm still in the brainstorming stage of this novel, so it's not like anything's set in stone..but the more I think about it, the more I like it.

I'm sitting here, it's nearly 1 am. I'd rather be upstairs, lying next to my husband and asleep. I'll admit, sleeps been hard to come by these last few days. But I got deadlines. Argh! Family wants me to hang out during the day with them, which means writing at night. And here's a secret I'll let you all in on...I'm not a big fan of night time writing. My brain is more sluggish, my thoughts not as creative, but as much as I love writing, I love my family more. So it's me, my cup 'o joe and just my thoughts.

And boy what lonely thoughts they be. LOL. My heroine is trapped in limbo, she's ready, horny and just waiting for me to finish the damn scene. I don't know how many sex scenes I've written in my life (many, and lets just leave it at that..hehehe), but for some reason certain scenes are just harder to write than others. She's in her apartment, pushed up against the wall, the tea kettle is boiling in the background and things are getting hot and heavy. She wants him, he wants her, so what's the problem??? ME! I can't finish the friggin' scene. I've jumped around, edited things here and there, but it's like this ugly mole on your face. No matter how many times you look away from that mirror and try to pretend that hideous, hair infested mole isn't there...well, it really is. Isn't it? This scene is like trying to pull out an impacted molar...it just doesn't want to budge from my thoughts to the screen. Sigh...a writer's life. It ain't all glamours people.

That said, it's time for me to go and bring my heroine some much needed relief.

Saturday, March 04, 2006

Well isn't this just gorgeous?

So my friend is creating me a website, she also created my blog to look similar in design to my website. Let me tell you people, when the big reveal happens it's gonna blow your mind. It's just flat out gorgeous, that's all there is to it. :D

So let's see. Lemme add something here right quick, a little intro to me. I have a lot going on in my life. Some good, some bad. Try not to focus on the bad and just move on with my life, because to sit and stew on what's not good will only make you sick. So good stuff here we go.

I've got 2 books coming out this year. One an romantica short, called Fire and Ice, through cobblestone press. It's a fantasy romance about Pyroth and Lumina. He's King to Kingdom of Fire and she Princess to the Kingdom of Ice. On the Eve of their bonding ceremony she's abducted into the night and her memory of the man she loves obliterated. Pyroth belives she's dead until a chance meeting and he'll have only one shot to make her remember not only him, but the passion they once shared.

The other is Witch Hunt, co-authored with a friend of mine and it's being published through New Concepts Publishing. A man afraid of his native heritage and the spirit world - a woman who embodies all he fears.Can they learn to trust and love, or will their differences rip them apart forever?

Also, big news. I landed myself an agent last week. Jessica Faust of Bookends Literary. I'm just thrilled, she contracted a book of mine tentatively titled: Death and the Witching Hour. I really hope we can not only sale the book, (multi book deal would be friggin' awesome, but I'm not gonna be sad if I don't.)...and two, that I can keep the title, because the entire series revolves around Death and...etc. Still, if a publishing house nixes the name but I can get my book on bookstore shelves, I'll take it. LOL...Beggers can't be choosers, right?

Name::Vivienne KingFrom::Texas baby!, United States
I'm a vampire, werewolf, daemon, and shape shifter...well, at least my characters are. But if I could have been I would have been. I've got an incredibly active imagination and that's why I write, because otherwise I'd be talking to myself all day long and then that would look really weird, wouldn't it?